Lenient? For shouting Bingo? It should never have reached the courts to begin with, let alone actually receive a punishment for it, the bingo hall should have just banned him

Dude! It was a deliberate attempt to disrupt the Bingo game in progress and irritate the players, for no reason whatsoever. Sure it's a really petty crime, but there was no punishment. Cop gave him a ticket.

Dude! It was a deliberate attempt to disrupt the Bingo game in progress and irritate the players, for no reason whatsoever. Sure it's a really petty crime, but there was no punishment. Cop gave him a ticket.

Meh, it was a daft childish prank, something in the olden days you might get a clip around the ear for.... everything gets blown way out of proportion these days, in court for shouting Bingo... its completely unnecessary and a waste of time and effort for things that do need dealing with in a court room

Don't **** with the old people playing, bingo, they take that **** SERIOUSLY!

The bingo ball caller at the local eagles club told me a story

He said this old lady in the front row just about had a bingo but lost to another person. At the very start of the next card he called the square she would have needed to win the previous round. He said she looked at him and said.. "You little ****ER!"

There was no harm to society here - he should have simply been given a talking to by the officer and the matter been left at that. There was no need to drag him in front of a judge, as that's a complete waste of the judicial system and defies common sense. Only if he was a repeat trouble maker should the matter have been taken any further. The idea of banning him from using a word is ridiculous, particularly when it concerns something so trivial and considering the US prides itself on free speech.

Then again, we're talking about a society that thinks it's appropriate to handcuff and interrogate a seven year old boy for 10 hours over the alleged theft of $5 (a false accusation with no evidence). It's very concerning how intolerant US society has become.

Bet this wouldn't be anywhere near the news making radar if a cop didn't happen to be where he was. If you can remember this from years back... imagine if that same cop was a HP fan and managed to be in line at the time:

I can understand charges being laid if this teen did something stupid like yell BOMB inside a movie theatre, but yelling BINGO isn't a threat to life. Unless of course, one of those old grannies happens to suffer a heart attack or something.

What about the 1st ammendment? The judge didn't appear to overrule it.Freedom of speech does not equal the ability to say anything you want, anywhere you want.

The kid has been forbidden from expressing himself anywhere, I assume, including his own room. That's a bit overkill. What if he just likes the sound of the word?

It's the obligation of that local bingo to arrange a safe and fair environment for their participants. What have they done to prevent such a thing from happening if they are involved in serious business (like gambling) there? Nothing. No face-, age-, ID- control, no sound-proof walls.

The kid has been forbidden from expressing himself anywhere, I assume, including his own room. That's a bit overkill. What if he just likes the sound of the word?

It's the obligation of that local bingo to arrange a safe and fair environment for their participants. What have they done to prevent such a thing from happening if they are involved in serious business (like gambling) there? Nothing. No face-, age-, ID- control, no sound-proof walls.

lmao - so according to you it would be a cinema's fault for not arranging a safe and fair environment if someone decided to go into a crowded cinema and start shouting fire?mmm.... not so sure you understand the concept of the first ammendment.

lmao - so according to you it would be a cinema's fault for not arranging a safe and fair environment if someone decided to go into a crowded cinema and start shouting fire?mmm.... not so sure you understand the concept of the first ammendment.

imho it's not the same thing.

Shouting "fire" causes panic. Shouting "bingo" doesn't cause panic.

p.s. As for the cinema, if someone disturbs my movie watching session and the administration does nothing about it, I demand a refund.